2012: Starting out right

January has already been a blast and a half - even with all we've done in our many years of friendship, courtship, and marriage-ship it looks like 2012 is gonna top a lot of lists.

 

The BEST part of the month (sorry to start with the wonderful-est part first) was discovering our new family member is a GIRL!  The jury is still out on names, but anticipating a daughter is oober exciting...if only I could actually get around to decorating the nursery...

We had a mini-reunion with some of the sister missionaries from my mission - including my greenie! She and her husband were visiting from BYU-Hawaii.  Looks like she is expecting their first baby in July. It was great to see her and the rest of the sisters.

We also took a weekend to drive up and see Rachel, Dorian, William, and brand-new baby Emma in Roosevelt.  Of course we planned it on top of a snowstorm, but driving actually wasn't that bad.

We had a GREAT time - special thanks to Dorian for whipping up some fantastically tasting Japanese food.  I think I finally got my fill of rice...AND kimchi (special treat for us!) We also managed to fit in homemade waffle cones with Coldstone ice cream, pancakes at the Eddington's home, AND the traditional stuffage at a Chinese buffet.  Add onto that time out shooting 6 different kinds of guns, sleeping on a thousand fingers, and pillow-fights with William...you have an awesome weekend.  And we still got back in time to teach Nursery at church the next day.

 

Driving to and from Roosevelt gave us a chance to really enjoy our new "old-fogey" habit: Dustin and I have discovered how much fun it is to read books aloud together.  We finished "Treasure Island" by R.L. Stevenson and began "The Hobbit." (We have now finished The Hobbit and are almost through with "The Hunger Games" trilogy.  Fun times.)

 

2012 is definitely going to be a great ride.

Family ties

This is my incredible and long-time friend Rachel. She helped us finally get Mom the family pictures she's wanted for so long - and I think they turned out great!  The fall colors up Provo canyon were beautiful, and it's great to have happiness captured like this:

 We sisters are so much fun!!!

And I love that Dustin and I were able to get a few of our little "family" shots - baby is only about 2 months along here, but we were already so excited about it!!

Family - it's pretty much the best thing ever to happen to me.

November

     This will be mostly a photo blog - because I still have one more last year post after this before I jump into the new 2012 and its joys.  Thanksgiving at the farm - this would have been my FIFTH year missing this tradition (Jerusalem, mission, mission, in-laws) had my husband not gotten us up there to enjoy what to me IS Thanksgiving.  Some fun perks from this year:

   I was the soccer-mom-chauffer for the early morning Turkey Trot 5K group - I'll have to run it next year when I'm not suffering from morning sickness :)

  We had an incredible dinner (no surprise) complete with THREE fired turkeys (the extra being done by Uncle Doug this year in his new fryer - way to go!)  Also had long-time friend and awesome mission companion Kathryn Wilson there to make the occasion even better.



Our after-dinner celebration was an addition this year straight from the backwoods of Washington :)  Apparently hiding behind a large cardboard turkey and getting shot at with paint balls is a lot of fun when you are stuffed to the brim with good food :)  Uncle Doug, I hope those welts have gone away!!!


 

Happy Holidays!!

The Wonderful Month of Halloween!

     Here's a bit of a picture blog post of that oh so in-the-past holiday of Halloween.  Why?  Because this was so last year, but we have all these cute pictures of things we did - and I want to share.  And because our Halloween celebration really did last all month.  And it is the last day of January and I don't have time to grab pictures of more updated moments of our life.  So enjoy a walk down memory lane :)

  It began with pumpkin PAINTING - yes, we did carve some of them, but our friend Natasha showed us how fun it can be to just colorify them - and so much less messy.  Hers are the two cute ones on display:

   After that fun FHE, we had a Halloween dinner with some of our ward friends.  The Jedi family pictured are the Durnhams - and Yoda might be my favorite kid in the whole world (until ours comes around).  We had a disgusting menu (but delicious food) and a great time.  And this is a cameo of our own awesome-couple-costume: The Princess and The Pea :)

    We also had a big friend reunion, complete with costumes, 3 prego ladies, donut-on-a-string game, and frosting Halloween cookies.  It was great to see everyone - especially since it has been so so so long since we'd all been together.  Go Lone Peak Knights! (or something like that...)

Thanks for indulging me - hope next Halloween is this much fun!!

Grandpa, We Love You.

So, I've been meaning to write this post for months now (so much for my twice-a-month new year blogging resolution - I still have one day to make good on that) and have been thinking about all my grandparents lately - I thought it would be nice to write down a few of my thoughts on Grandpa Eames.





Grandpa Garth Eames.  What a great man.  He sure did a lot with his life - which is surprising when you consider he was "just" a potato farmer in Idaho.  He served in the marines during World War II AND was able to serve as a missionary in England.  When Dustin and I visited England this summer I thought a lot about him and the time he spent on the streets of that beautiful country preaching the words of Christ. 

 















He married my grandmother Shirley Robinson and they built a farm out of nothing in the little po-dunk town of Rupert, Idaho and had six children (all of whom are absolutely fantastic people whom I love very much!).  She died a few years before I was born of cancer and Grandpa remarried the very different but equally lovely grandmother I have known and loved all my life - Grandma Edna-Lou.  The family extended by four more kids - my awesome aunts and uncles.

    Grandpa served missions (and as mission president) in half a dozen places; missionary work was always a great part of his life. Everyone still remembers him in Idaho as a legendary stake president and I remember him as the Grandpa that gave me my Patriarchal Blessing.  He faithfully served in the church his whole life - and continued reading his scriptures until his very last day here on earth.  

  I've loved the time spent up at "the farm" through my childhood and young adult years.  It's famous for Fourth of July BBQs, family reunions, and sweet rolls at Grandma's.  Grandpa was always quick to laugh and had thing zinging one-liners that kept the dinner table lively.  I was blessed to be up at the farm with my mom and many of her siblings during Grandpa's final week - second week of September, 2011.  It is one of the most difficult and yet spiritual experiences of my life, one that I will never forget.  Grandpa Eames has left his numerous posterity with a grand legacy, and I hope to live up to his wonderful example.  Love you, Grandpa.  Thank you for such wonderful memories - and for the promise of an eternal family in the life to come.